Student sued by university for finishing degrees too quickly

Marcel Pohl, a student at The School of Economics and Management in Essen, Germany, says he couldn’t believe it when he found out the university was suing him for graduating with a master’s degree after just three semesters. “When I got the lawsuit, I thought it couldn’t be true,” the 22-year-old said. “Performance is supposed to be worth something.” Pohl completed all 60 exams required to receive both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in just 20 months — a quarter of the time it usually takes. He succeeded with the help of two pals who attended concurring lectures and shared their notes with him. Claiming “income loss,” the school is demanding Pohl pay $3,772 — a portion of the amount he would have spent had he stayed for all 11 semesters. Dumbstruck Pohl says the school knew about his plans in advance and didn’t object. A spokesman for the university refused to comment.